Power to the Data!

In a recent post, I mentioned that both political parties were investing large sums in data mining and 1:1 marketing to influence the outcome of the recent national elections. In a recent issue of IW (Information Week) the value of this effort is discussed.

What was once almost an exclusive Republican activity, IW reports that the DNC invested over $8 million on a multi-terabyte relational database. Much of the data came from InfoUSA.

One scenario cited - female cat owners and married women with children tend to vote Democratic. Using the data acquired, the party now knows who these people are and can attempt to capture their vote through well-crafted phone calls, direct mail and TV spots.

The DNC's voter file contains 300 million records with up to 900 fields per record. Observers of this effort credit in part the party's success in Virginia and Montana, both close senate contests, to this strategy. While the D's haven't caught up with the R's in precision and database quality, they now have the validation to make further investments with the confidence that 1:1 marketing gets results.

Direct Mail Tips

Some frequent mistakes in planning executing direct mail campaigns:

1. IMPROPER PLANNING
Dozens of errors are included in this category, but most of them occur by trying to rush into the mail without sitting down, thinking first, and asking for outside input.

2. FAULTY ANALYSIS
Usually the product of an "I want this piece to be the winner" or "We think this version best describes our company's image" attitude, but often the result of fondling and admiring the spreadsheet instead of examining its figures.


3. FAILING TO SEE LISTS BEFORE MAILING
Did you look at the labels or a tape dump yourself? Why not? How do you know whether you got the right selection?

4. LETTING SOMEONE ELSE ORDER LISTS
Yes, someone else - like a good list broker - can and should make recommendations, but the person in supreme charge of the mailing is the person who should make the final list determinations.

5. ASSUMING ALL IS WELL
Sorry, all is not well. Triple-check every vendor so your mailing gets printed and mailed correctly and on time.


6. USING WEAK OFFERS
Start with as strong an offer as you can afford to acquire as many new qualified leads or sales as possible. Then trim the offer by testing packages with lesser offers. Of course, this would be a side-by-side split test.

7. DECIDING NOT TO TEST
You always need to test something to get back useful information for your next mailing. Not testing is a good way to get lower results than you might otherwise obtain.

8. UNDERESTIMATING COSTS
Please add 20% to your budget for such things as author's alterations, last-minute price changes, paper stock substitutions, etc.

9. NEGLECTING INTERIM REVIEWSE
You need to review a campaign at the beginning, at the end...and, at mid-course. Most of us forget the mid-course review, preventing us from making corrective or newly-aggressive moves.

10. BELIEVING YOU'RE RIGHT
I've had clients who believed they knew how to market to their markets better than anyone. Some of them no longer are in business. A business manager should take the view that he knows his market, but a professional marketer should do the marketing. Think of it this way: you know your tooth hurts, but you wouldn't drill it yourself.

11. FAILING TO STOP AND THINK ABOUT WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT
You raise Duroc (red) and Hampshire (black and white) pigs. Your customers want Yorkshires (all white like Babe). No wonder you're not selling! Your goal should be to discover exactly what your customer wants, and then give it to him at a good deal.


12. FORGETTING PREMIUMS
Every mailing that does not offer a free gift can be improved by adding a premium to the deal.


13. SPENDING TO SHOW YOU CAN AFFORD TO SPEND
While you should be willing to spend more to make a better sale, you also shouldn't toss money away. The higher quality stock or slick brochure may indicate to some that your deal is too costly. "If they spent that much plotting and planning to catch me, maybe I can't afford their whiz-bang."

14. SAVING MONEY ON POSTAGE
Yes, take every saving possible if you mail millions. If not, perhaps you should test First Class against Bulk Advertising Mail. The forwarding benefit can more than repay the extra cost. Try it if you feel you have a first class company.

1:1 Marketing vs. Interruption Marketing

As my previous post addressed, beneath the vitriol and bitterness of this election cycle, there is an interesting marketing story playing out. Seth Godin, author of "Permission Market" cites a personal example of interruption marketing and the reaction he had. I have personally heard similar stories from friends and family about the negative reaction they have/had after repetitive phone calls soliciting responses or support from a particular candidate/party.

I think as usual Mr. Godin is ahead of the curve. As previous posts have stressed, the popularity of mass marketing has peaked and "ROI" metrics are driving marketers to a personalized and many times a multi-channel effort.


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The point, folks, is that with all these strangers calling me, interrupting my day, giving me unanticipated, impersonal, irrelevant come-ons, not one person I know personally has called me. And not one of the callers has tried to enlist me to call my friends.

One call from a friend is worth 100 calls from an Academy-Award winner on tape.

The mistake politicians, like most marketers, make is that they think that what they are doing is way too important. Too important to leave to citizens. Too important to leave to ordinary people who happen to be big fans with organic, authentic networks of trusted friends. Too important to respect social boundaries.

If you're in too much of a hurry to build a real network, you're probably in too much of a hurry to get elected.